ESSM is bringing transformational anti-ship missile defense capabilities to the fleets of the United States, NATO and other allies. The missile was developed by the U.S. Navy and nine of the other 11-member nations of the NATO SEASPARROW Consortium. Members of the Consortium include Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and the United States.

ESSM Moves from Water to LandRaytheon Missile Systems, along with a global industrial partnership, has introduced an initiative that expands the missile’s original mission from sea-based to ground-based air defense arena. ESSM used in a ground-based application will build on the proven capabilities of the ship-based application by providing the same air defense capability against the full threat spectrum, including aircraft, high and low velocity air threats, and high divers.

ESSM is the third Raytheon missile to be successfully fired from the NASAMS launcher (joining AMRAAM and AIM-9X). The benefits of adding ESSM to Ground-Based Air Defense are:

Extended range.

An additional complementary capability.

A common logistics infrastructure and procurement for nations that already have ESSM in their Naval inventory.

ESSM currently has more than 2,000 proven rounds in service or in production with another 1,500 rounds anticipated. It is likely that ESSM will be supported through 2030 and beyond, based on current customer requirements.